Looking Forward to 2019

Hello friends, I do hope you had a good Christmas and that you are having a peaceful end to 2018. I will be having a very quiet end to the year without the usual Hogmanay celebrations as I am on a very strong antibiotic for my tooth which doesn't mix with alcohol at all. So, come the bells I will be toasting the New Year with tea and my favourite chocolate.

I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do in 2019 and the first thing is to try my hardest to post to the blog every Sunday. I have also really enjoyed knitting the socks for Operation Christmas Stocking and the hats for gifts this year so I am going to start filling a box with these sort of things which I will donate to The Salvation Army. These wonderful people looked after my great-uncle many years ago and I have never forgotten their kindness to him.
Another thing I want to do is take my sock knitting out and about to share my county with you. I will try, once a month to get out for coffee and cake and hopefully meet some like-minded folks and who knows I might even convert some doubters to become knitters.

I was asked in a Ravelry group about my knitting around the world and how I came to choose the number of rows I need to knit. I am using World Walking, Around the Globe for this personal challenge. Here is the route I will be taking

And here is how far I am to date, I love how it calculates where you are on the map,

as you can see I have a very, very long way to go. My intention is to use my new row counter to add all the rows I do each week, add them on a Sunday then share my progress with you.

Now at last to actual knitting. Today's cast on will be the 2nd of toe-up Dumbledore's Christmas Stockings using Ripples Crafts Reliable Sock in Early Morning and Drops Fabel in Mustard for the toe and cuff

The first sock is looking so good

I am also making good progress on a pair of commission socks for a friend's daughter. These Fidget Socks are again being knit toe-up as I really do think that is my groove. I honestly seem to knit socks so much quicker doing them this way.

This yarn is Stylecraft, Head over Heels, in the Sugar Loaf colourway. I am just at the point of turning the heel on this sock so I hope to be starting the second one next Sunday.
My Adventurous Wrap has nearly reached the half-way point, sorry no picture, so I have chosen the mini-skeins to go in the second half.

This is such a relaxing knit and a great way to use up mini-skeins or even leftovers from other projects.

I think that is all for now, time to get back to the knitting.

Happy crafting

Mary

Links

World Walking 
Dumbledore's Christmas Stockings
Fidget Socks
Adventurous Wrap
Ripples Crafts
The Sunday Sock Ravelry Group

A Very Merry Christmas to You All

Hello friends, first up may I offer my sincere apologies for going missing in action last week. This was due to a severe toothache which required a difficult extraction that has left me in discomfort since last Thursday. Then our boiler decided to break down on Saturday and it looked like a very bleak Christmas was in store in the Sunday Sock household. Fortunately, the lovely engineers at Lothian Gas managed to get the part and worked late to fit a new heat exchanger, which means we are cosy and have hot water.

Now for what I have been up to on the knitting front.
Firstly I frogged the sock I was working on and re-started it toe up

Then I have been enjoying immensely adding mini skeins into my Adventurous wrap.

I am almost at the halfway stage and I can see more in my future using mini skeins and sock leftovers.
Talking of mini skeins, lookie at what Santa brought me.

Tranquility from The Fibre Fox

 

Harry Potter Magical Mystery Mini Set 

Which came with these goodies

Then remember the pink parcel I teased you with

It was filled with magic.

Hubby also treated me to this beautiful brooch for my shawls,

My amazing Step-daughter and family gave me this fabulous make your own slippers set,

and she must be psychic as I have been looking at this all year

I hope you all had a yarntastic day and I will now raise my glass of fizz to you all

Happy crafting

Mary

Blogmas Day 19

Hello friends, would you believe I have no knitting to show you today? I have been so busy doing other things that I have not yet picked up the needles.
Hubs and I were out at lunchtime meeting his daughter and a friend for a cuppa and presents exchange at a local garden centre. Whilst there I spotted this gorgeous wax warmer and since it was reduced I just had to have it.

It currently has a sweet pea melt in it and our house smells divine.

Then I was off to the local community centre to give my pint of blood. I have a huge plaster on my arm to prove it

Finally, I came home and opened up the last four days of my advent calendar.

These are some pretty colours and it will be a joy to add them to my shawl. There was a wee extra in day 19, this sweet progress keeper.

Well, now it's time to pick up some yarn and needles and start another sock.

Until tomorrow, happy crafting

Mary

Blogmas Day 18

Hello friends, can you believe this time next week it will be Christmas Day? Time sure flies when you are having fun.

Today it is all about the sock, or rather the sock yarn. I finished these socks this afternoon and thought I would try my hand at a yarn review.

The yarn I used, and it is one I use frequently, is Drops Fabel. It comes in a wide range of print and solid colours and is available worldwide. One thing that first drew me to this yarn was the price point, around £2.30 for 50g, but subsequently, I have discovered that it is a wonderful workhorse yarn for everyday wear. It is machine washable, I have also tumble dried it, on low, with no unwanted effects. As said it comes in 50g balls, ready to knit from right away, and has a meterage of 205 (274 yards). It is 75% wool and 25% polyamide. It is medium-soft to knit with, softens with washing, and has good stitch definition, so the solid colours are perfect for those patterns where you really need the stitches to shine. I would highly recommend this yarn for beginner sock knitters as it is not a lot of money to lose if you decide not to continue with sock knitting, (although once down that rabbit hole!). Committed sock knitters will like it too as if you are like me sometimes you just want the yarn to do the work.
The colours I used for these socks are Mustard for the toes and cuffs and Blue Sea for the rest. I buy my Drops Fabel from Wool Warehouse who deliver worldwide if you cannot find a local supplier. Try this yarn, I am sure you will love it.

Happy crafting

Mary

Links

Drops Fabel @ WoolWarehouse
The Sunday Sock Ravelry Group

Blogmas Day 17

Hello friends, not a lot of knitting to share today as other things have taken up my time. Priority being wrapping the Christmas presents ready for distribution later this week.

We have also been out and about at appointments and I spotted this lovely tree and decorations at the local swimming pool.

I have also been extremely upset at the dishwasher as after nearly 15 years it packed in on Saturday. I now have to sacrifice my EYF savings plan to buy a new one, hopefully by the end of February. It was a strange feeling doing the dishes in the sink after all those years, not to mention that we have no dish drainer and we had to rush out and buy squeezy liquid as our last one was empty.

The only knitting I have done is on the sock

I am now round the heel and 1/3 up the leg. It might get finished tonight if I concentrate just on it.

Now on to something else, what do you all thin of yarn mini skeins? I have become so enamored with them when seeing all the lovely projects on the Ravelry radar. I have been looking on Etsy and there are some glorious ones around, a little secret, I just ordered a Harry Potter themed mystery set from The Yarn Lab UK. I would love to know what you think and who your favourite dyers are so I can check them out.
I have, if I am honest, had a bit of a yarn spending spree over the weekend. I have ordered two mystery boxes for January from Rosies Moments. The first is the sock box, I loved this year's Children in a Sweet Shop Around the World theme and for next year she has chosen landmarks around the world, it will be so exciting to see what comes in the box. The second is a mystery box based on the stories of Beatrix Potter, I have no idea what to expect at all but I am sure it will be fabulous.

I am off now to watch Criminal Minds season 4 and hopefully finish up the sock.

Happy crafting

Mary

Links

The Yarn Lab UK  

Rosie's Moments

Blogmas Day 16

Hello friends, here we are 2/3 of the way through Advent. Today I don't have a shawl or surprise package to share with you as I have been distracted by two other pieces of knitting.

First, since it is Sunday is a sock.

I have been rattling along with this and have finished the foot up to the point of the gusset. These socks have been a fast knit using the Milkshake pattern as a template and adding 3 x 1 garter rib for a bit of texture.

Secondly, if you follow me on Instagram you will have seen this photo

There is a pattern I have been admiring for some time on Ravelry and yesterday I decided to bite the bullet and purchase it. The pattern is Adventurous Wrap by Ambah O'Brien. I then went stash diving and pulled out these beauties, in the foreground is Royd Moor cashmere in Perriot and behind are a selection of Blue Moon Indigo minis by The Border Tart. This wrap is mindless TV knitting and last night whilst watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 I got quite a bit done.

See you tomorrow

Happy crafting

Mary

Links

Milkshake socks https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/milkshake-3
Adventurous Wrap https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/adventurous-wrap
Ravelry group https://www.ravelry.com/groups/the-sunday-sock
The Border Tart http://www.tartsart.co.uk/

Blogmas Days 14 & 15

Hello friends, I lost yesterday completely to a migraine. I was in my room in the dark all day I just could not stand to be around any form of light. This has meant that I have very little knitting to share with you but I do have some.

I have tried to keep up with the advent shawl, just a little more of yesterdays and today's to do and I am all caught up.

 The theme of the night sky continues.
.

The cutest wee buttons

 I said on Thursday that it was time to cast on a sock, I not only did one but two.

Now I have plenty to keep me entertained for a few days.

Time to pick up my needles, I leave you today with our boy, Frankie, looking as if butter wouldn't melt which is not always the case

Happy crafting

Mary

Blogmas Day 13

Hello friends, it's a milkshake kinda day. I have a strawberry milkshake in my glass, a vanilla wax melt in the warmer, my knitting in my lap and one of my own December traditions, I am binge watching Criminal Minds. I am on season 4 and I love it, maybe not Christmassy to most folks but hey, we are all different, in my mind, I am the Scottish Penelope Garcia style-wise.

Yesterday I promised you some finished socks and TA-DAH!!

These scrappy socks knit up very quickly and use up leftovers from other projects, what's not to love?

Talking of finished projects, earlier this year I said I wanted to finish 45 projects, one named after every town and village in East Lothian, well, with this project I made it 😀😀😀

Now, back to Advent. I have added yesterday's colour,

and opened today's which came with the most delightful progress keeper

Remember I said I had won a prize in a trivia quiz? Well, it arrived this morning,

the most gorgeous sparkly Christmas tree soap. This was so serendipitous as just yesterday we put out our own Christmas tree

It is behind glass in the cabinet to protect it from curious kitties.

Well, time to go and knit up today's yarn. I also have to cast on a new sock, (can't wait till Sunday).
I leave you with the sleeping beauties to my right

 Happy crafting

Mary

Blogmas Day 12

Hello friends, can you believe we are halfway through Advent already? Is it just me or are the days passing too quickly? I still have much preparation to do. Lots of wrapping and I still haven't bought hubby a birthday pressie, (how inconsiderate of him to be born on the 21st).

I caught up with the shawl last night when coughing and sneezes kept me awake.

And will add today's stripe as soon as I have finished here,

Hubby picked out the next colour for my Adventurous wrap and I have made a start on that

The yarn is leftover from socks I knitted in 2017 and is a Hubble Bubble from Ripples Crafts.

I also got quite a bit done on my scrappy socks but I am leaving taking a photo until they are finished, hopefully by tomorrow they will be done.

I leave you today with yesterday's supervisor of knitting,

Mysti is not a lap cat at all but will happily sit on the back of the sofa and carefully watch all proceedings.

Happy crafting

Mary

Blogmas Day 11

Hello friends, I am not having a great time today, choked with cold and just wanting to sleep.

I did not manage to knit up my advent calendar yesterday so will be doing it later. I did however manage to knit day 5 of my Adventurer Wrap

Now that I have chosen to use leftovers and have hubby pick out the next colour I am so keen to see how it will pan out. I have been following other people's in the Ambah group on Ravelry and there are some really beautiful wraps and scarves.

Today's advent surprise is just gorgeous

I am looking forward to catching this up and will see you all tomorrow when hopefully I will feel a bitty better.

Happy crafting

Mary